Top 10 Super Bowls

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

With Super Bowl 43 just days away now people begin to reminisce over Super Bowls past. What was the greatest performance in Super Bowl history? What was the greatest team to win it all? What was the greatest game ever played in the Super Bowl? Today I will tackle that final question and make a list on the Top 10 Super Bowls ever played.

10. Super Bowl III: New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts 16-7. This game isn’t up here because it was one of the closest games in Super Bowl history. Super Bowl 3 made the list because of its historical impact on the NFL. This was and will forever remained the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. Imagine the CFL Champions beating the Super Bowl Champions. Essentially that is what happened in this game with the inferior conference of the AFL besting the NFL. If the Jets did not win this game the owners of the AFL were going to pull out of the Super Bowl until they were able to compete with the NFL. The NFL and Super Bowl would be very different today if not for the Jet’s victory.

9. Super Bowl XXXIX: New England Patriots over Philadelphia Eagles 24-21. This is the only Super Bowl in league history where the game was tied at the beginning of the 4th quarter. Think about that statement. In 41 other Super Bowls the game was not tied heading into the final 15 minutes. The Eagles were close to pulling the upset over the defending champions where it seemed the Eagles outplayed the Patriots in the first half. However, in the fourth quarter the Patriots pulled away late and despite a late Eagles touchdown the underdogs could not comeback.

8. Super Bowl XXV: New York Giants over Buffalo Bills 20-19: The first of four straight Super Bowl losses for the Buffalo Bills which was made possible with a Scott Norwood miss of a 48 yard FG with 8 seconds left. The Giants were 6 point underdogs and few thought they could slow down the vaunted Bill’s offense. The Giants ran the ball down the Bills throat; leading to RB Otis Anderson being named MVP and the Giants controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Despite only having the ball for only 1/3 of the game the Bills still had a chance to win the game. Norwood’s FG loss remains etched in the memories of Bills’ fans.

7. Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants over New England Patriots 17-14. For the most part this game was boring. If the Patriots held on to win 14-10 this game would be considered to be one of the worst by my standards. This was hyped up as an offensive shootout, yet the score was 7-3 entering the fourth quarter. Big plays by Kevin Boss and David Tyree led the Giants into the red zone. Eli then found Tyree who was completely covered by Asante Samuel in the endzone and a wide open Burress for the game winner. The monumental upset and comeback has this game on this list. However, if it wasn’t for the fourth quarter this game would not be on the list.

6. Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots over St. Louis Rams 20-17. The Patriots had a chance to run away with this one. The game was 17-3 when Tebucky Jones ran a fumble back for 95 yards and a touchdown. The play was reversed on a holding penalty and the Rams scored a couple plays later. Instead of a 24-3 score the Rams were only down 17-10. The Rams answered again with less than two minutes left tying the game 17-17. Most people thought the Patriots should play for overtime and not risk giving the Rams the ball back in regulation. The Patriots had other ideas. Tom Brady led the Patriots down the field in 1:41. Adam Vinatieri then hit a 48 yard game winning FG. This is the only Super Bowl to have a team score as time expired.

5. Super Bowl XXIII: San Francisco 49ers over Cincinnati Bengals 20-16. The Bengals were only minutes away from a world championship title. The Bengals were up 16-13 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Joe Montana marched the 49ers down the field. Jerry Rice who had 215 yards already was expected to be the target in the red zone. Instead Montana found John Taylor for the game winning score and crushing the hopes of the Bengal team. The Bengals outplayed the 49ers for most of the game, but they allowed 2 TDs in the fourth quarter that cost the team the Super Bowl.

4. Super Bowl XIII: Pittsburgh Steelers over Dallas Cowboys 35-31. These two teams met three years prior in the Super Bowl where the Steelers won 21-17. It was deja vu as the Steelers won by four once again. The Cowboys had a chance to win the game, but a dropped touchdown pass by Jackie Smith allowed the Steelers to hold onto the lead.

3. Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos over Green Bay Packers 31-24. This Super Bowl will be remembered for John Elway’s first Super Bowl win. Elway lost 3 out of 4 Super Bowls early in his career. Now he faced off against the defending champions who were 11 point favorites. The Packers thought the Broncos didn’t even belong in the game. The Packers came out to an early 7-0 lead. It seemed like Elway was going to be 0-4. However, the 37 year old would not be denied and the lasting image of this game is Elway diving and being hit midair. The hit made him spin and he landed for a first down. The Broncos scored with only minutes remaining to break the tie and take a 7 point. Elway’s determination and Terrell Davis’ 3 TDs allowed the Broncos to pull the upset.

2. Super Bowl XXXIV: St. Louis Rams over Tennessee Titans 23-16. The Rams were 4-12 in the 1998 season. Trent Green their starting QB was injured in the preseason. Kurt Warner, a man who was working in a grocery store the year before was now the starting QB. Warner exploded for 41 TDs that season and won the NFL MVP award. The Rams took a 16-0 lead on the Titans. The game seemed like a blowout. Then the Titans stormed back and were able to tie the game 16-16 with over 2 minutes remaining. On the Rams first play from scrimmage Warner hooked with Isaac Bruce for an 80 yard touchdown pass. It seemed the Rams scored too quick though. The Titans were able to march down into the red zone with :06 remaining. McNair hit WR Dyson on a slant; however he was tackled one yard short. Warner became the last regular season MVP to win the Super Bowl.

1. Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots over Carolina Panthers 32-29. If you can say one thing about the Patriots it is they play in great Super Bowls. They played in 4 of the 10 games on this list. The Patriots were trying to win their second Super Bowl in 3 years. The Panthers were 1-15 two years prior and were now in the Super Bowl. This game was all defense at first. The Patriots scored late in the second quarter, making it the latest the first score occurred in Super Bowl history. The Panthers answered and tied the game 7-7. With less than 2 minutes left the Patriots marched down the field and scored another TD to go up 14-7. With 15 seconds left the Patriots attempted a squib kick. The Panthers then ran a draw play where Foster ran for nearly 20 yards. The Panthers ended the half with a FG and the score was 14-10. At first this game was all defense then all of sudden there were four consecutive scoring drives to end the half. The third half was all defense once again. Both teams were shut out in the quarter. Patriots RB Smith scored a TD in the 4th putting the Patriots up 21-10. The Panthers responded with a Foster TD. The Panthers went for two and did not convert. The score was now 21-16. The Patriots were driving once again until Brady threw an INT in the end zone. Delhomme then connected with Mushin Muhammad for an 85 bomb. The Panthers were up 22-21 after a missed 2 point conversion. Muhammad’s 85 yard recepetion is the longest in Super Bowl history. The Patriots responded next drive with a TD from Brady to TE/OLB Mike Vrabel. The Patriots converted the extra two points on a direct snap to Kevin Faulk. The Panthers responded with a TD of their own and the game was tied 29-29 with only 1:04 remaining. John Kasay botched the kickoff and hit the ball out of bounds. The Patriots now had 1:04 on their own 40 with 3 time outs remaining, the best clutch QB in the game, and the best clutch FG kicker in the game. Needless to say Brady drove the Patriots down the field and Vinatieri hit a 41 yard FG with :04 seconds remaining to win the game. Both teams combined to score 37 points in the fourth quarter in what will be the greatest fourth quarter and I believe the greatest game in Super Bowl history.

The Extra(neous) Point

Michael Shahvari

My Super Bowl Article

If you’re like me, which I hope you are not, you were hoping that Super Bowl XLIII would consist of the Cardinals and the Ravens for the sole purpose of making a funny article title. The title would have gone like this: Cardinals against the Ravens in Super Fowl XLIII! This would have also worked had the Eagles beaten the Cardinals, so all I needed was for the Steelers to lose, and my hilarious bird article would be born. This didn’t happen though, and the Steelers showed why they belong in the Super Bowl, shutting down Baltimore’s sometimes effective offense, and thrashing their always effective defense.
So I was left with the Steelers against the Cardinals, and the challenge of coming up with a funny title for an article about that. After thinking about the game and what the outcome might be, I could only conjure up one image, which was of a  little cardinal flying through the air carelessly, and then smashing into a giant steel beam, causing the bird to fall to the ground, possibly dead and certainly maimed. Since this was not a pleasant picture, I decided on the generic title which you see at the top of this article.
It seems like an obvious game to me, since the Steelers have been so dominant on defense, and their offense finally came into it’s own against a great Ravens defense. The game does not seem all that lopsided though, when I think about how surprising the Cardinals have been throughout the playoffs. Stopping the Eagles offense, and going into Carolina and blowing them out. It is stories like these that make sports what they are, and it wouldn’t shock me if the Cardinals pulled it out and Larry Fitzgerald went for 400 yards. Crazier things have happened. Like tornadoes for instance, they’re crazy.
So while my head tells me that the Steelers should win pretty easily, my instinct tells me that anything can happen in those sixty minutes in Tampa Bay. Maybe even a tornado. If a tornado does happen though, the Steelers will probably win since they are made of steel, and cardinals are just little birds. Whatever happens, I hope you enjoy the game for what it is, since fantasy season is over and Larry Fitzgerald’s stats will effect him and only him, you don’t have to worry about a thing. (Except maybe tornadoes).

Top 10 Teams to lose Super Bowl

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

There is often debate on what team is the greatest of all time. Instead of a list of the Top 10 Super Bowl Champions, I’ve made a list of the Top 10 teams to lose the big game.

10. 1977 Denver Broncos: Lost Super Bowl XII 27-10 to the Dallas Cowboys. The Broncos were 12-2, the best record in the AFC. They had one of the best net point differentials of 126 points. Craig Morton became the first QB to lead a second franchise to the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner just became the second. The Broncos were no match though for the great offense led by Roger Staubach and the dominating defense led by MVPs Harvey Martin and Randy White.

9. 2004 Philadelphia Eagles: Lost Super Bowl XXXIX 24-21 to the New England Patriots. The Eagles had lost the 3 previous NFC Championships, but in 2004 they finally broke through. They were a NFC best 13-3 and had a net point differential of 126 points. The only problem for the Eagles was they faced the defending Super Bowl Champions who were too determined to lose.

8. 1978 Dallas Cowboys: Lost Super Bowl XIII 35-31 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys were the defending Super Bowl Champions and went 12-4 in 78 with a net point differential of 176 points. The Cowboys could not repeat and lost to the Steel Curtain once again.

7. 1983 Washington Redskins: Lost Super Bowl XVIII 38-9 to the LA Raiders. The Redskins won the Super Bowl the previous year and had an NFL best 14-2 record. Their net point differentials was 209 points but were absolutely obliterated by the Raiders.

6. 1969 Minnesota Vikings: Lost Super Bowl IV 23-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Vikings were a 12.5 point favorite and supposed to easily beat the AFL Champions in the final year before the merger. The Vikings were 12-2 for the best record in the NFL and had a net point differential of 246 points.

5. 1990 Buffalo Bills: Lost Super Bowl XXV 20-19 to the New York Giants. This Super Bowl can be summed up into two words: Wide Right. Scott Norwood’s miss of a late 48 yard field goal crushed the hopes and dreams of every Bills fan. The Bills were a 6 point favorite and were the AFC’s best team at 13-3.

4. 1997 Green Bay Packers: Lost Super Bowl XXXII 31-24 to the Denver Broncos. The Packers were the defending Super Bowl Champions and had a record of 13-3. The Packers became only the third defending champion to lose in the Super Bowl the following year. As an 11 point favorite the Packers seemed poised to repeat, but John Elway’s helicopter spin and Terrell Davis’ 3 TDs were too much for the Packers.

3. 2001 St. Louis Rams: Lost Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17 to the New England Patriots. The Rams had won the Super Bowl two years prior and were 14 point favorites heading into the Super Bowl. The Rams were a NFL best 14-2 and had a net point differential of 230 points. The Greatest Show on Turf was bullied and harassed throughout the game. Before the game many Rams players said a dynasty would be born tonight. Those players had no idea how right they were.

2. 1968 Baltimore Colts: Lost Super Bowl III 16-7 to the New York Jets. The Colts were 13-1 and had a net point differential of 258 points. They were an 18 point favorite and considered the greatest team of all time at that point. The Colts were completely outplayed by the Jets and did not score until the final minutes of the game.

1. 2007 New England Patriots: Lost Super Bowl XLII 17-14 to the New York Giants. The Patriots were the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season and was attempting to become only the second team to have a perfect NFL season. The Patriots were a 12.5 favorite and had a net point differential of 315 points, which is a NFL record. The Patriots were 1 minute away from going 19-0 until Eli Manning escaped a sack and found David Tyree with his miraculous helmet catch. With 40 seconds left in the game the Giants scored the winning TD and ended the Patriots pursuit of perfection.

Pittsburgh set to face Arizona in Superbowl after Conference Championship Victories

In the aftermath of perhaps one of the hardest hitting football games in history, perhaps it is fortunate most of us have a day off to fully recover from it.

In a slugfest comparable to a heavyweight championship bout, Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore 23-14, and are now headed to their 7th Superbowl appearance. Probably the most glaring stat – and an indicator of an anemic offense – was that Baltimore was 3-13 on third down conversions. Pittsburgh wasn’t much better, going 7-18, and only gained 11 first downs on the day. But in the end, it was a day where the turnover margin prevailed, as the rookie Joe Flacco went 13/30 for 141 yards and 3 INTs.  

The Steelers will now face the rejuvenated Arizona Cardinals, who defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 32-25. This is Arizona’s first appearance in the Superbowl.

RGFFootball.com’s Player of the game – S Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh.  The definition of a defensive playmaker, Polamalu forced two big turnovers. First one occurred on 4th and 1, where he sensed the Flacco sneak and stopped the play before it started. Then, to close out the game, he intercepts a Flacco pass and returns it 40 yards for his first touchdown of the year.

Super Bowl Facts

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

Here are some interesting facts about the Big Game and the two teams playing in it.

• Mike Tomlin becomes the youngest head coach to coach in the Super Bowl.
• Mike Tomlin becomes the third black head coach to coach in the Super Bowl (Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith were the first two who both faced off in Super Bowl 41).
• Ben Roethlisberger becomes the second youngest QB in NFL history behind Tom Brady to start 2 Super Bowls.
• Kurt Warner becomes only the second QB to start 2 Super Bowls with 2 different teams. Craig Morton is the other in losses with Dallas in SB 5 and with Denver in SB 12.
• Arizona goes to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. They become the 7th team in the past 10 years to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
• Only Jacksonville, Detroit, New Orleans, Cleveland, and Houston have not reached the Super Bowl.
• Pittsburgh attempts to win a record 6th Super Bowl. Currently they are tied with Dallas and San Francisco with 5 a piece.
• Arizona becomes only the second 9-7 team to reach the Super Bowl. The previous were the 9-7 LA Rams who lost to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 14.
• The Arizona Cardinals had the 32nd ranked run offense in the league. No team with the worst run offense in the league has ever won the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl MVPs

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

SUPER BOWL MVPs:

1. Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay
2. Bart Starr, QB, Green Bay
3. Joe Namath, QB, New York Jets
4. Len Dawson, QB, Kansas City
5. Chuck Howley*, LB, Dallas
6. Roger Staubach, QB, Dallas
7. Jake Scott, S, Miami
8. Larry Csonka, RB, Miami
9. Franco Harris, RB, Pittsburgh
10. Lynn Swann, WR, Pittsburgh
11. Fred Biletnikoff, WR, Oakland
12. Harvey Martin**, DE, Dallas
       Randy White**, DT, Dallas
13. Terry Bradshaw, QB, Pittsburgh
14. Terry Bradshaw, QB, Pittsburgh
15. Jim Plunkett, QB, Oakland
16. Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco
17. John Riggins, RB, Washington
18. Marcus Allen, RB, Oakland
19. Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco
20. Richard Dent, DE, Chicago
21. Phil Simms, QB, New York Giants
22. Doug Williams***, QB, Washington
23. Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco
24. Joe Montana, QB, San Francisco
25. Otis Anderson, RB, New York Giants
26. Mark Rypien, QB, Washington
27. Troy Aikman, QB, Dallas
28. Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas
29. Steve Young, QB, San Francisco
30. Larry Brown, CB, Dallas
31. Desmond Howard, KR, Green Bay
32. Terrell Davis, RB, Denver
33. John Elway, QB, Denver
34. Kurt Warner, QB, St. Louis
35. Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore
36. Tom Brady, QB, New England
37. Dexter Jackson, FS, Tampa Bay
38. Tom Brady, QB, New England
39. Deion Branch, WR, New England
40. Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh
41. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis
42. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants

* The only time a player on the losing team was named MVP.
**The only time two players shared MVP honors.
***The only time a black QB won the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Odds and Outcomes

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

Now that the matchup of Super Bowl 43 is determined between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, we can look back at the previous 42 Super Bowl’s odds and outcomes.

1. Green Bay(-14) over Kansas City 35-10
2. Green Bay(-13.5) over Oakland 33-14
3. New York Jets over Baltimore Colts(-18) 16-7
4. Kansas City over Minnesota(-12.5) 23-7
5. Baltimore Colts over Dallas(-2) 16-13
6. Dallas(-6) over Miami 24-3
7. Miami(-1) over Washington 14-7
8. Miami(-7) over Minnesota 24-7
9. Pittsburgh(-3) over Minnesota 16-6
10. Pittsburgh(-6) over Dallas 21-17
11. Oakland(-4.5) over Minnesota 32-14
12. Dallas(-5.5) over Denver 27-10
13. Pittsburgh(-3.5) over Dallas 35-31
14. Pittsburgh(-10.5) over LA Rams 31-19
15. Oakland over Philadelphia(-3) 27-10
16. San Francisco(-1) over Cincinnati 26-21
17. Washington over Miami(-3) 27-17
18. LA Raiders over Washington(-2.5) 38-9
19. San Francisco(-3) over Miami 38-16
20. Chicago(-10) over New England 46-10
21. New York Giants(-9.5) over Denver 39-20
22. Washington over Denver(-3) 42-10
23. San Francisco(-7) over Cincinatti 20-16
24. San Francisco(-11.5) over Denver 55-10
25. New York Giants over Buffalo(-6) 20-19
26. Washington(-7) over Buffalo 37-24
27. Dallas(-7) over Buffalo 52-17
28. Dallas(-10) over Buffalo 30-13
29. San Francisco(-19) over San Diego 49-26
30. Dallas(-13) over Pittsburgh 27-17
31. Green Bay(-14) over New England 35-21
32. Denver over Green Bay(-11) 31-24
33. Denver(-7.5) over Atlanta 34-19
34. St. Louis(-7) over Tennessee 23-16
35. Baltimore(-3) over New York Giants 34-7
36. New England over St. Louis(-14) 20-17
37. Tampa Bay over Oakland(-3.5) 48-21
38. New England(-7) over Carolina 32-29
39. New England(-7) over Philadelphia 24-21
40. Pittsburgh(-4.5) over Seattle 21-10
41. Indianapolis(-6.5) over Chicago 29-17
42. New York Giants over New England(-12.5) 17-14

43. Pittsburgh (-7) vs Arizona

The favorite in the Super Bowl is 30-12. The favorite has covered 23 times, the underdog has won the bet 17 times, and there has been a push twice.

A look back at the predictions

Before the season started 5 of our experts made their predicitions for the 2008 season. Now that the Super Bowl matchup is set we can revisit those predicitions made five months ago. Correct picks in italics/bold

NFL Experts:	David Lewis	Chris Dutra	James McPartlin	Sean Dutra	Mike McPartlin
AFC East	New England	New England	New England	New England	New England
AFC North	Cleveland	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Cleveland	Pittsburgh
AFC South	Indianapolis	Jacksonville	Indianapolis	Jacksonville	Indianapolis
AFC West	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego	San Diego
Wild Card	Jacksonville	Indianapolis	Jacksonville	New York	Jacksonville
Wild Card	Buffalo	New York	Houston	Indianapolis	Cleveland
AFC Championship	New England at San Diego	New England at Jacksonville	New England at San Diego	Jacksonville at New England	Pittsburgh at San Diego
NFC East	Philadelphia	Dallas	Dallas	Philadelphia	New York
NFC North	Green Bay	Green Bay	Minnesota	Green Bay	Green Bay
NFC South	New Orleans	New Orleans	New Orleans	New Orleans	Tampa Bay
NFC West	Seattle	Seattle	Seattle	Arizona	Seattle
Wild Card	Washington	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Chicago	Dallas
Wild Card	Minnesota	Arizona	Washington	Dallas	Minnesota
NFC Championship	Philadelphia at Green Bay	New Orleans at Dallas	Philadelphia at Dallas	Dallas at Philadelphia	Minnesota at Green Bay
Coach of the Year	Mike McCarthy	Eric Mangini	Dick Jauron	Jack Del Rio	Mike Tomlin
MVP	Tom Brady	Drew Brees	Tom Brady	David Garrad	Ben Rothlisberger
Offensive Player of the Year	Tom Brady	Drew Brees	Tom Brady	Tom Brady	Ben Rothlisberger
Defensive Player of the Year	AJ Hawk	Bob Sanders	Lofa Tatupu	Roy Williams	Antonio Cromartie
Offensive Rookie of the Year	DeSean Jackson	Darren McFadden	Kevin Smith	Jonathan Stewart	Darren McFadden
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Jerod Mayo	Leodis McKelvin	Jerod Mayo	Jerod Mayo	Keith Rivers
Come Back Player of the Year	Donovan McNabb	Adam Jones	Ricky Williams	Chris Henry	Marc Bulger
Super Bowl 43	Philadelphia over San Diego 31-20	Dallas over Jacksonville 35-27	New England over Philadelphia 28-27	New England over Philadelphia 42-28	San Diego over Minnesota 17-9
Super Bowl MVP	Brian Westbrook	Marion Barber III	James Sanders	Tom Brady	LaDainian Tomlinson

Heres the results:
David Lewis: 3
Chris Dutra: 4
James McPartlin: 6
Sean Dutra: 5
Mike McPartlin: 4

Free Agent Frenzy 2009

James McPartlin, Vice President- Editor

The 2008 Fantasy Football Season is far behind us and the NFL Playoffs are underway. While the Steelers, Ravens, Eagles, and Cardinals duke it out in the post season, lets take a look at the possible 2009 Free Agency.

As far and Fantasy Football is concerned there are only a few players at the Quarterback position that are worth looking at.

Kurt Warner – Arizona Cardinals. Warner should return to the Cardinals after an amazing season. Warner wants a winning situation and a starting job so the Cardinals should be a no-brainer for him. Ken Wisenhunt has this team going in the right direction and their success in the playoffs will influence Warner’s decision. Warner may find himself being a draft day bargain for those who choose to wait on an aging quarterback.

Matt Cassel- New England Patriots. It would appear the Patriots will franchise Cassel. If Brady misses anytime next season Cassel will excel in his stead. However if a team feels the need to give up a first round pick for Cassel next year he may struggle. 55% of the Patriots passing yards came after the catch. Cassel needs offensive weapons like Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and company to make plays for him after the catch.

It would be a surprise if any other Quarterback FA had any barring over next years fantasy season. These free agents include- Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, J.P. Losman, J.T. O’Sullivan,and Kerry Collins.

The Running Back position has seen better days as far and fantasy football is concerned as teams begin to rely on committees and their air assault. But it wouldn’t hurt looking for this years Michael “The Burner” Turner.

Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward- New York Giants. Earth and Wind of Earth Wind and Fire (Amad Bradshaw being Fire) are free agents. Jacobs expects to be back with the G-men next season but with his bruising running style and big money expectations its appears improbable. If both runners stay in New York that is where they will have the most potential next year with their automatic handoff machine Eli Manning.

Darren Sproles- San Diego Chargers- Sproles a playmakers. He is a third down back, he is an change of pace back, he is a return man. He is not an every down back which is why he may not be a Charger next year. Sproles will be a back up no matter where he is next year. The Chargers can’t be giving him too much money though because they need to find LT’s replacement as the future Hall of Famer will be 30 next season.

Other Free Agent Running Backs include Dominic Rhodes, Maurice Morris, Ricky Williams, and Cedric Benson.

The could be a few surprises instore at Wide Reciever this off season. The position itself was in decline last year with all the inconsistent play and injuries at quarterback. The top free agent wideout is T.J. whats his name from the Bengals.

T.J.Houshmandzadeh- Cinncinati Bengals. The Bengals are poor on defense, hurt on offense and disfunctional as a whole. Cedric Benson was the one silver lining for the Bengals and he is also a free agent. Housh should test free agency and increase a new quarterback’s value next season.

Marques Colston New Orleans Saints. Colston is a Restricted Free Agent so expect him back healthy and catching passes from Drew Brees in one of the leagues most pass happy offenses.

Devery Henderson New Orleans Saints. Henderson is a speed demon and at the age of 28 he should make a great slot reciever on a team other than the Saints next year.

Keep an eye on this offseasons moves that way there are no suprises come this summer when you’re drafting your team. Who knows maybe one teams free agent signing could be your draft day bargain bin surprise.

What I learned from the 2008 season

**Commish Note: Hey guys! We are going to be starting this back up again with a few new contributors and some cool changes to the blog (well, soon to be website). Keep coming back to get all of your NFL information! -Chris **

First off, for all of you who won your respective fantasy football championships, congratulations. If you are a first time winner (like me),  then you understand the rush behind winning that elusive trophy (or cash prize, or both). Not that I-sounded-like-Kevin-Garnett-kind-of-rush feeling, but you get my point. There’s a new “McPartyPants Trophy” sitting on my bookshelf at home the league bought from ESPN three years ago and I’m damn proud of it.

Why? In a season where new faces emerged as elite (fantasy) football players, future hall of fame quarterbacks were sidelined or on different teams come week one, and rookie qb’s/head coaches made the playoffs, it’s suffice to say that there were enough unexpected turn of events during the season that your mindset about fantasy football changed a bit. In my opinion, it felt like spot starts were more important than mainstays, and depth this year was critical to success.  Some people needed that waiver wire WR probably had to stay up until midnight (or later, depending on the league) to ensure they had a decent option to cover their bye. Or injury.

Hopefully your efforts during the season paid off for you. I’d like to hear your story of your championship run, and how your roster played out in the end.  

Stay tuned for everything 2009, as now we have the holiday shopping season for NFL teams (the combine, leading up to the 2009 NFL draft). My next post will be handing out this years Fantasy Football Awards.